Territorial Enterprise

February, 1883 - January, 1885
Alf Doten wrote for the Territorial Enterprise, the largest and most successful newspaper in Virginia City, sporadically from the time he moved to the Comstock in 1864 until the end of his life, as a freelancer and briefly as a “local reporter.” He also filled in for Dan De Quille at times when De Quille was detoxing from alcohol. After a great deal of financial and professional success as the publisher of the Gold Hill News, Doten’s fortunes took a very bad turn in late 1882, resulting in his family’s move in 1883 to Austin, Nevada, a more prosperous town where he might have more opportunities. They stayed for less than two years, but during that time Doten wrote 73 columns, “From Eastern Nevada” that were published in the Enterprise. It was his only steady work, and he gave it his best writing about daily life in Austin, a much smaller and quieter place than Virginia City. If nothing interesting was happening, he fantasized a bit, using fictional characters that typified (but exaggerated) the types of citizens of his new home. This series provides a wealth of information about Austin during the early 1880s

TE41 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . February 17, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. Coal Oil Efficiency—Fire Extinguishment—Frozen Water Troubles—Cold Zero Comforts—A Chronic Lawsuit—Valentine Varieties and Aggravations—Ruby Silver and Bullion Bricks—Satisfactory Mining Depths—Reese River Railroading—Linen Dusters, Skates and Religious Social Improvement—Quijotoa. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., February 15, 1884. The morning air is heavy and unfragrant with the floating odors of coal oil fire-kindling, for in this desperately cold weather the thrifty, scantily-dressed...
TE42 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . March 2, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. The Shutting Down of the Manhattan Mill—Rich Sweepings and General Clean—up—Bullion Shipments—Mill Saturation and Human Bodily Richness—A Prosperous Milling run—Good Bullion Yield for Reese River District—About the Mines—Lovely Ruby Silver Veins—Excellent, Advantageous and Successful Mining Management—Present and Future Prospects—Telegraphic—Political—Society Notes—Etc. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., February 29, 1884. Our great ore reducer and bullion producer, the Manhattan mill, has at...
TE43 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . March 16, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. March Ethics and Strawberry Moralizing—Small-Souled Thieves—John Booth's Death—The Sudden and Unexpected Ending of a Varied and Busy Life—Another Pioneer Gone Home—Obituary Notice of a Noted Printer. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., March 14, 1884. All local weather sharps agree in saying that March came in like a lamb, but it had been charging abut like a belligerent ram ever since—butt end foremost. Austin people are never happy without plenty of March weather—"wind and cloud and changing...
TE44 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Wednesday. . . . . . . . . . March 19, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. St. Patrick's Day—The Funeral of Uncle John Booth—Two Old Pioneers Buried the Same Day—Not Many of the Old Boys Left—A Medicine Man's Bad Luck—A Warning to Scrub Doctors—What "Tribal Relations" Can Do. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., March 17, 1884. Again St. Patrick's Day is with us, and throughout the world the sons and daughters of the Green Isle will do honor to the memory of their good patron saint, who neutralized so much sin and evicted from the soil of old Ireland the meandering...
TE45 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Tuesday. . . . . . . . . . April 1, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. A Local Snow Boom—Its Influence—A Legend of Reese River—The Piute Doctor's Grave Filled, but Not His Place—Medical Justice—Political Movements—A Harvest for Austin—Apoplectic Deaths—How the Pilgrim Followed Copy—Farming—Profit and Loss—Dry Moon. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., March 28, 1884. Eastern Nevada is enjoying a glorious boom of beautiful snow weather at present, which seems exclusively for the benefit of this particular section, taking in Eureka and contiguous localities, and quite...
TE46 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . April 13, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. A Measly Epidemic—Musical and Military-True Human Inspiration—The Mining Groundwork of Our Prosperity—Milling and Bullion Prospects—A Genuine Comstock Pump in the Reese River Mines—Some Speculative Ideas. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., April 11, 1884. The greatest and most domestically extensive sensation prevailing here at the present time is the measles and scarlet fever. The two diseases seem to have made an offensive and extremely effectual combination against the peace and welfare of...
TE47 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . April 27, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. Pioneer Weather Records and Speculations—Good Trout Fishing—Political Straws—The Blaine Boom—A Desperate Medicine Man—In a Bad Fix—Military and Musical—A Big Horn—Rubeola—Melting Snows—Canned Limberger—Lingering Winter. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., April 25, 1884. An old Pacific Coast pioneer, who is about fifteen years ahead of the Reese River pioneer in the matter of truth-telling, naturally relates some very interesting stories and reminiscences regarding Spring weather on this coast....
TE48 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Sunday. . . . . . . . . . May 11, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. Spring Sproutings—Pastoral Notes—The Domestic Ranchers and Horace Greeleys of Austin—Unfortunate Trees—Manhattan Mill Matters and Personalities—Another Prosperous Run Inaugurated—Mining Operations and Rich Ruby Silver Ore—Enterprising Miners—The Big Pump—West Point and Miscellaneous Points. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., May 9, 1884. The present moon commenced wet enough, but has dried out finely since. We have had three days, now, without any snow or hail squalls, encouraging us to presume...
TE49 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Wednesday. . . . . . . . . . April 30, 1884 A LOST BUT TOUGH LITTLE BOY Out All Night in a Violent Snow Storm, and Found Next Day Under a Sagebush, Chewing Gum. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., April 27, 1884. Saturday afternoon being tolerably pleasant, the family of Richard Husband, living in the upper part of Austin, together with a few friends, went over to Marshall Canyon, a mile or so south of town, on a sort of picnic excursion. Little Dicky Husband, about seven years of age, with some of the other children of the party, after a while strayed...
TE50 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE Tuesday. . . . . . . . . . May 27, 1884 FROM EASTERN NEVADA. Thundering Humidity—A Surplus of Rain—An Austin Alarm—Hopeful Chances—Political Whisky—No Proxies Wanted in the Coming Democratic State Convention—The Next President—Local Politics—An Old Forty-Niner Passes By—Some Well-Known Visitors—Festival Doings—Floatings—Dollars. [Correspondence of the Enterprise.] AUSTIN, Nev., May 23, 1884. The rattle and the roar of heaven's artillery has considerably commingled with the busy racket of the hammer and the saw during the last two or three days, especially in the...

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